


Something New

by UnknownSatellite84



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alien Gender/Sexuality, Atlas CEO Rhys, Borderlands Gift Exchange, Crushes, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Dates, Fluff, Fruit, Gift Fic, How Do I Tag, Kissing, Nonbinary Character, Other, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 19:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownSatellite84/pseuds/UnknownSatellite84
Summary: Rhys gives Zer0, the assassin and vault hunter he's been hiring for routine missions, another assignment. Thing is, this one is quite different.





	Something New

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this for the 2018 Borderlands Gift Exchange :D This was a cute fic to write!  
> So the sorta prompt/idea was~ "I know I’m a big fan of Atlas Rhys and hired gun Zero where Rhys just hires him so he can see him, but nothing too specific comes to mind."  
> I kinda took this basic idea of that and ran with it a bit. Hope you enjoy where it went! Happy holidays, y'all, hope you enjoy this! ~ :) ~

Zer0 stood before Rhys's desk in the carefully cooled office at Atlas's new headquarters, still and quiet. They spoke, voice filtering out from their modulator into the quiet room. “Job is done, / just as requested. / Is this all?”

Rhys couldn't stop himself from smiling at the broken, bloodied psycho mask dangling from Zer0's long fingers, proof that the marauders Rhys had sent him after were now dead and would no longer bother his shipments. Rhys steepled his fingers, pleased. “Nice work with those bandits.”

Zer0 flashed what might have been a polite smiley face emoticon across their helmet. “Easy enemies. / They died swiftly by my blade. / Barely a battle.”

Rhys couldn’t quite get over those fun-if-outdated emoticons Zer0 used. They were...honestly really cute, somehow taking some edge from the intimidating aura that could surround Zer0 at any given time. It was hard not to be constantly reminded just how dangerous Zer0 was, especially when they were holding the mask of one of their fallen foes loosely in their grasp. Not that Rhys didn’t trust them. It was just easier to chat when he wasn’t thinking about _how_ many beings the assassin had effortlessly ended.

Besides that, the emoticons had helped Rhys discern one thing. They had given him hints on just _where_ the mysterious Zer0 might have come from, which had been an important fact to know for his next plan.

Rhys folded his hands together on his lap, pushing himself into business mode so he didn’t stutter all over himself. If he hadn't gotten so practiced at this job in the last several months, he probably would've embarrassed himself. Well, _more_ . Embarrassed himself _more_. “There’s another task if you want it.”

“Yes?”

“I only ask that you proceed to this location at this time,” Rhys said, using his Echo Eye to forward the details to Zer0's Echo communicator. “There's the information if you want it.”

Zer0 paused, probably assessing the info. “My que is quite low. / Will accept this assignment. / I am curious.”

_Yes!_ Rhys couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Perfect. Once you're there, I'll fill you in on what...what's going on. Oh, and in case you hadn’t noticed yet, I've already forwarded payment for the last mission." Rhys cleared his throat, feeling jittery. He felt he should say something more. "It's...It's really a pleasure working with you, Zer0."

"Thanks." Zer0 flashed a heart symbol over their helmet, making Rhys feel a little weaker and maybe a little more hopeful than he had a right to. The feeling only increased when Zer0 continued with, "not so bad yourself. / Working with you - relaxing. / Easier to think."

Rhys ducked his head, fighting the completely unwarranted heat in his cheeks. "That's good- good to hear."

"I will see you then." Zer0 left without another word.

Rhys struggled to contain his excitement as he logged onto his computer. He had things to gather if he was going to pull this off.

* * *

Rhys finished setting up the table with the fancy dinnerware that complimented the sleek tablecloth. He dimmed the lights to half their usual intensity. It let in some of the bioluminescence from outside, the hues of which ranged from soft blues to intense violets, from biting pinks to lush crimsons. A group of giant spores drifted by the window, catching his attention. They flashed a lazy and contended sapphire color. It all set quite a mood, he thought. It was a good thing they were calm. He’d seen enough angry-red spores to last a lifetime.

He pulled his attention away from the windows and rearranged a few things on the table once or twice more, needing it to be _just right_. When he grew tired of changing things by centimeters, he plopped down, trying to contain his nervousness.

He fiddled with his tie. He got up again, deciding to check his reflection in the nearby bathroom. He observed himself, hair carefully tamed as ever, the Atlas colors on his suit sharp and aesthetic. Yes, good. Hopefully. Would it matter in this scenario? Did physicality do anything for this alien species? Did being human matter much?

...Rhys probably should've looked into _those_ types of details sooner. If there _was_ such info on the Echonet.

It was a little too late to worry about that now.

He got an alert of a visitor at the facility. He checked with his Echo Eye, using security cameras to spy Zer0 at the gates. He was hit with an extra wave of stomach butterflies. In the office, it was somehow easier to be confident and in charge - to an extent. Outside of it... Well, Rhys had never been the best with social interactions. It was made all the worse that he had to interact with someone who made his chest feel all fluttery and his limbs utterly weak.

He let the newcomer in. “Come on in!” Rhys invited, gazing at Zer0’s attire. It was good he'd disabled the metal-detectors. Zer0 was decked out in their usual dark gray and black assassin suit with an assortment of weapons and guns strapped to their body. It...probably wasn't the most suited attire for what he’d planned, but that was the unfortunate part of this being a surprise. Not that aliens dressed up for dates. Or went on dates. Rhys was already strangling himself internally for being a way-too-hopeful idiot. Who was he to expect them to reciprocate his feelings?

Yeah. It was _way_ too late to worry about all that now. If he was going to get rejected - and he probably was - then he was just going to have to deal with it like a grown adult. Better to get it over with now.

Zer0 flashed a smiley emoticon across their helmet before proceeding into the facility. "What is this? / What is the task here? / Fail to see."

Rhys rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... Come- uh, come with me." If they stopped to chat before Rhys revealed the truth, he would definitely lose his nerve. He had to stop overthinking this. He led them down a hallway, up some stairs, and then to the room he'd spent the last few hours in. Once inside, he paused, causing Zer0 to halt as well.

He turned to Zer0. “I...got us a nice dinner- um, if you want it, that is.” He fiddled his fingers and hands together, trying not to show his anxiety. Did he seem very pathetic and desperate right now?

From the direction their helmet pointed in, Zer0 seemed to stare at the table for several agonizing seconds before turning back to Rhys. “Ah!” they said, “see now; / is human courtship. / Apologies, Rhys..." They folded their arms. "Is very unexpected./ I do appreciate this gesture. / But cannot eat human food.” A “ _:/”_ displayed across their helmet.

Rhys, who’d been a second away from having a full-on panic attack at the “apologies” part, anticipating rejection, took a deep, steadying breath as he recovered his thoughts. “Oh no, no, no, that’s- that's fine. I uh...I got food you should be able to eat. I think.” He ran his hands through his hair. "You uh...will probably want to confirm it, though, heh heh."

A “???” now appeared on their helmet. Zer0 turned toward the elaborately set up table and strolled over with speed. They quickly pulled the cover off their meal, the one helpfully marked with their name. Zer0 leaned down, observing the bowlful of a clear jelly-like substance with a thin lavender-colored glaze on top. They looked back at Rhys. Zero's display was stuck on a long chain of exclamation points. “You... Rhys. This. This is...familiar. This meal. Translation error... Ah, no word in your language. But it is...special to me. Traditional amongst culture... How _did_ you get this?”

Rhys almost fell over in relief but also shock at how he had actually taken Zer0 by _surprise,_ so much so he’d thrown off their voice modulator and translator. Zer0, badass vault hunter and deadly ninja assassin. Holy shit.

Rhys slowly found his voice, clasping his hands tightly behind his back. “Uh- It’s- It's imported from the Edens. I...I've been using data collected from your assignments to narrow down your species so I could...get that for you.” Rhys coughed, ignoring the tingling skin on his face and neck. Was that weird, the effort he'd gone through to determine his crush's species without their knowledge instead of just asking? It probably was, wasn't it? Uh… Now that he was thinking of it, there were a lot of things he hadn’t fully thought through, huh?

But Zer0’s helmet simply showed a row of bright heart emoticons. “How unexpected. / Will dine with you tonight. / Eager to try it.”

“ _Yes_!” Rhys exclaimed before he could stop himself. “I mean... I- I was _really_ hoping you would say that.” That...wasn’t much better was it? He cleared his throat, warmth flooding his cheeks. He walked around to his own meal and sat down, uncovering it. Zer0 took off some of their bulkier equipment, setting it aside before claiming their own seat.

A slot on Zer0's helmet opened, and Rhys watched as a tube-like appendage slipped out and buried into the jelly-like substance. It reminded him of videos he'd seen of butterflies drinking nectar from a flower. It was...quite cute. A proboscis? Rhys’s Echo Eye offered up that term. He didn’t stare, though. He wasn’t going to be rude. He'd known dining with an alien would be...a new, interesting experience.

He concentrated on his own meal, taking a bite. He almost groaned. He’d gotten quite hungry, and it was so damned delicious. He was glad he’d imported the best steak in the galaxy. Or so experts claimed. Right now, they seemed correct. He hadn’t had real steak in quite some time. It was mouth-watering.

“Should’ve known you were interested,” Zer0 said. “Human courtship complicated.” It took Rhys off guard. For some reason, he’d expected silence with Zer0’s proboscis being imbedded in the meal, steadily absorbing it. Now he realized that was silly of him. Zer0 could talk thanks to the voice modulator in his suit. The proboscis had nothing to do with it.

Rhys swallowed. "Is it...uncomplicated with your kind?”

“My kind do not court.”

“I...oh. You don’t...er, y’know? Uh, nevermind.” Rhys's face was burning again as he realized how his question sounded. He cleared his throat and took a drink of wine.

“Copulate?” Zer0 guessed, making Rhys choke on the wine. “Oh no. Mistook that. / We do mate to reproduce. / There’s no rituals… We are taken by pheromones usually.”

“So...what you’re uh, you're really saying is...no romance?”

“Correct."

“This doesn’t bother you, right? The dinner?” Rhys asked, nerves returning. "Not that, I'm saying this has to be romantic or lead anywhere, uh, specific, erm-"

Zer0 offered a smiley emoticon. “It does not bother me. I have been around humankind for so long, I’ve grown accustomed to your rituals.”

“I see.” Rhys was suddenly curious about what that statement implied. “So... Have you...been with a human before?”

“In what way? Sexually? Romantically?”

“Either.”

“Have tried both.”

"And?"

"And...found both interesting."

Well, that was vague. Rhys let it go for now. He couldn't think of a way to respond for more info that didn't sound awkward to him. He chewed in silent thought for awhile before restarting the conversation. "I admit...I wasn't sure you would agree to this. But...I thought I should try. I'm...surprised you wanted to."

"You are the first human to ever offer food I could consume. Or to offer anything at all in a romantic environment."

Oh. Well... _Damn_ . Rhys guessed that whoever Zer0 had tried things with before...must've not been a great partner if they couldn't even be bothered getting Zer0 food they could consume. It...made him feel annoyed at that person. Why _wouldn't_ they do that for someone they were with? "I'm not saying I know much about them," Rhys started, "but if they couldn't even _try_ to get you something you could safely eat... They were probably not a great partner?"

There were a few heartbeats of silence. "Would not...disagree. /" Zer0 said at length. "Didn’t have comparison… / Until now, that is.” They shifted. “They were not as romantic as you."

Rhys wasn’t sure how to react to that. It honestly made him feel sad for Zer0, but also kind of worried he’d gone a little _too_ romantic, what with the whole bioluminescent lighting thing. This was just a first date. "So is the food... Is that the only reason you agreed to this?" He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Not...only reason." Zer0 seemed to shift in demeanor despite the modulator tone never changing. Their body posture slumped a bit. "On a mission two months ago, my shield malfunctioned. Took a...pretty bad hit. First time...I thought I wouldn't survive." A series of dots passed over their helmet. "Thought of that tonight when I realized what you wanted. Decided it would be nice to have...more than the challenges for once. Something new. To try."

“Oh...wow… I didn’t know.” Rhys ate another bite of his meal before continuing. "I'm really glad you made it tonight."

"Feel the same."

Rhys finished his meal, sighing with contentment. He noticed that Zer0 was finishing with theirs too. "Was it good?" He said. He assumed so, considering they’d consumed it all, but he had to be sure.

“The meal was perfect! / Yes, very satisfying. / Could eat even more." A ":D" displayed on their helmet.

“Well...um, there's more in the fridge, or..." Rhys trailed off as his eyes settled on the bowl of drakefruit he’d placed in the middle of the table. "I’m assuming you can’t eat these. They make a great dessert, though.”

"I can partake of drakefruit.”

"You can?"

Rhys watched Zer0 pick up a piece of fruit. They dug their fingers into it until purply beads of juice welled under their long, slender digits. Their proboscis furled out, swiping up the droplets quickly. It was surprisingly more elegant and less messy than Rhys expected.

Rhys laughed a little. “Well, it’s nice you can have some too. I was feeling kinda bad I couldn’t find a dessert for you-” Rhys started to reach for the drakefruit bowl with his human hand. Zer0 grabbed his wrist, halting him. Rhys blinked in surprise, staring at the grip before raising his eyes to Zer0.

“Here. Still needs eaten on.” Zer0 was proffering the now-marred drakefruit with his other hand

“Is that...all you wanted?”

“No, you bite, I drink. / We eat this one together. / Better to not waste.”

Rhys blinked a few times before what Zer0 was saying sunk in. “Oooh...gotcha.” His face heated. He ran his robot hand over his scalp before he took the fruit with his other. He bit into it. Thick, sweet juice leaked out of the drakefruit’s ripe flesh, thick and viscous on his lips. Zer0’s appendage slipped over with uncanny speed, swiping up the droplets left behind on the fruit's skin. Rhys felt it brush over his hand, the touch light and feathery. He looked at his hand where the sensation had been, the excess juice completely gone.

He wasn’t prepared for what happened next. The appendage swept across his chin where juice droplets had ran down. Rhys had been too distracted to react...for a few seconds, anyway. He laughed, his face burning even more. "That tickled."

A smiley face appeared on Zer0's helmet. “Yes, was very nice. / Eat more so we can drink more. / Am enjoying this.”

"Of course," Rhys said, happy with this turn of events. It...was rather pleasant, he reflected, the brief sensation he'd felt from the proboscis. Like the brush of fingertips, but softer. He took another bite, this time bigger and sloppier. Rivulets of nectar spilled out, sticky and sugary. Zer0 once more took up the juice in the familiar way, the tubular appendage ghosting sensation over Rhys's hand and chin. It lingered longer this time.

Rhys was only encouraged to make more of a mess of the fruit.

They worked on the fruit like that until it was gone. Rhys was left deeply flushed from the attention, the shared dessert, and the overall date. It'd all built up, left him feeling heady on those nice brain chemicals. After using a napkin to clean up the stickiness left behind by the juice, he leaned back and patted his stomach. "Well, I'm pretty full."

Zer0 stood, and Rhys felt sad quite abruptly. The date was already over? He glanced around, as if he might find a way to stall Zer0, but his mind was too fuzzy with everything else to come up with something.

Zer0 walked around the table, offering a hand. "Walk with me?"

Rhys wanted to groan, but he pushed it down. He might have been feeling stuffed, but he latched onto the excuse to keep Zer0 around a bit longer. Rhys took his hand and stood. They walked out of the room. "Where we going?" He asked.

Zer0 paused. "What is...easiest way to out there?" He pointed at the luminescent biodome through the windows.

Rhys chuckled. "This way." He took the lead.

They got into a nearby elevator, and it started an upward ascent. When it slowed to a halt, they stepped onto a catwalk shrouded by tall trees that had glowing vines crawling up their trunks and dense, lush foliage on their branches.

"Gorgeous," Zer0 noted, a heart on his helmet. "Not used to this on Pandora." 

"Yeah..." Rhys breathed. He pressed a little closer to Zer0, that fluttering feeling returning with a vengeance. However, he was much less nervous now.

"Come on," Zer0 said, helmet lighting up with more hearts. "Want to see something." The hearts changed to what looked like eyes.

Rhys, still holding onto the alien hand in his, was pulled along to the part where the catwalk bridged out into two directions. It wasn't as high here as it was in other places. More vines dangled over the walk, glowing and rippling. Rhys saw a set of winding, maintenance access steps leading to the mossy floor below. They started down it.

"Oh,” Rhys said, “don't pick any flowers." He chuckled. "A friend of mine did that once. All the spores got super pissed and tried to electrocute us."

Zer0's helmet showed a ":O". "I will keep that in mind."

They made it to the bed of carpet at the bottom, and Zer0 halted. They tugged on Rhys as they started to sit down.

"My suit," Rhys protested without much gusto, looking down at his outfit, frowning. He hadn't planned on sitting on _grass_. 

"It can be cleaned." He swore there was amusement there now in Zer0's voice. “Come on, Rhys.”

"Fair point." Rhys relaxed, letting himself be pulled down. He wound up on the floor, head on Zer0's chest, eyelids drooping. "Thanks. I...enjoyed this."

"Same. Starting to understand appeal in the rituals."

“So...what made you decide to hang around humans anyway?” Rhys asked, feeling the rise and fall of Zer0’s chest under him. It was soothing.

“Most violent places happen to have humans. Sought these places to test skills and face challenges. Became used to your species over time.”

“Oh...yeah. You’ll find humans in the worst places of the galaxy, no doubt.”

“And the best.” Rhys noticed another heart symbol on his helmet.

“Aww, that’s...sappy…” Rhys yawned, shifting around to get more comfortable. He was honestly beginning to feel pretty sleepy.

"Rest now," Zer0 spoke. A hand reached up, three long digits carding through Rhys’s hair.

Rhys drifted off like that under the glowing bioluminescence, feeling comfortable on the soft forest floor, braced against Zer0's strong, wiry chest, the feeling of fingers against his scalp. He breathed in the assassin’s scent, which was a mixture of dust and gunpowder...and something sweet? Like fresh flowers? Interesting. Little could be better than this. He felt so happy, so content. He couldn't believe he'd gotten this lucky.


End file.
